Planting volunteers take a break and look at the side channel project. Photo by Charles Espey.

Join us for a fun, community-filled day of mulching on the wild & scenic Dungeness River!

May 29th, 10am-2pm

This winter, NOSC volunteers dedicated their time to planting native trees and shrubs at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Caldero Side Channel Project. Join us as we return to mulch these plants so they can grow into a healthy future forest that will support salmon and other wildlife on the Dungeness River!

Refreshments, gloves and tools will be provided.

About the site:

In 2022, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe approached the Salmon Coalition to assist in revegetating the site of a newly constructed side channel on the Dungeness River, a short distance upstream of Highway 101. The site was acquired by the Tribe in 2017 and is named Caldero after the former landowner. The Caldero side channel project creates nearly 1,000 feet of off-channel habitat for both spawning adult salmon and rearing juveniles.

Side channels such as the one at Caldero are critical refuges for salmon during flood events. This is particularly the case for juveniles, who can be easily overcome by heavy flows. Off-channel habitat can also be important spawning areas for returning adults. In fact, on a recent visit to the project site, Salmon Coalition staff members observed several adult coho salmon utilizing the new channel!

During January and February of 2023, the Salmon Coalition, our Washington Conservation Corps Crew, and hundreds of volunteers planted 7,000 native trees and shrubs! Large scale planting efforts like this one often require several subsequent plantings to ensure full revegetation.